Liquid seal



July 7, 1942. c. H. NAZRO LiQUID SEAL Filed Jan. 21, 1941 8 8 8 N 8 8 8 8 8 8 40; 8 0 9 8 4 M 8 8 8 8 88 8 a 5 i 2 8 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS 8 Patented July 7;" I

ENT OFFICE sealing liquid into we isolated surfaces municating respectively with the interior and 6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to a shaft sealing device, and is directed particularly to improvements in liquid seals employed for sealing the juncture of a rotating shaft and a stationary housing.

In its simplest form, a seal of the abovementioned type preferably embodies a cup- ,shaped container secured to the shaft to rotate therewith and forming a chamber containing a body of mercury brother sealing liquid, and a stationary annular baflle member secured at its upper end to the stationary housing and extendcause, of migration of external liquid through the mercury.

A further object is to reduce the tendency for displacement of mercury outwardly beneath the ,bafile due to centrifugal force, and to maintain a body of uncontaminated mercury at substantial pressure immediately adjacent the shaft.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of a pre ferred embodiment of the invention, reference ing downwardly into the body of sealing liquid.

The baffle thus divides the free surface of the comthe exterior of the housing, and separated from each other by thebaflle and bythe two bodies of sealing liquid lyingon opposite sides of the baille. Obviously, in order for internal. or external fluid to pass from one side of the baflle to the other it must migrate through the body of sealing liquid and beneath the lower end of the baffle.

A seal of the foregoing type has proven to, be

more effective than any other type of seal in sealing the shaft opening in-the housing of a sub mersible electric motor. When operating, submerged in water or other conducting liquid, it is essential that leakage of the external liquid into the housing through the shaft opening be entirely eliminated inasmuch asany leakage, even at an infinitesimal rate, would eventually break down the insulation on the motor windings and cause the .motor to burn out. It has been found that a body of heavy sealing liquid, such as mer cury, interposed between the external and intemal liquids will not necessarily form a perfect seal, becauseof the tendency for minute particles of external liquid to migrate through the mercury. One of the principal factors contributing to migration of external liquid through the mercury is the tendency-to the formation of a film of external liquid on the shaft below the level of Fig. l is a longitudinal sectional view of the seal; and

Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sectional views takenin lines 11-11 and III-III, respectively, of Fig. 1.

Referring to Fig. 1, the seal comprises generally a shaft III, a shell or cup member li-secured at its lower endto the shaft, and an annular baffle member I2 surrounding the shaft and extending downwardly within the cup member ll to a point adjacent the bottom of the annular chamber formed between the shaft and the cup.

I have shown only that portion of the shaft which extends through the seal, but it will be understood that the shaft extends both downwardly an'd upwardly into operative engagement Y with driving and driven elements. A pair of nut 20 is threaded into oppositely facing shoulders 15 and ii are formed on the lower portion of the. shaft at opposite ends of an outwardly extending flange portion H. The cup member ll fits snugly about the flange H, and is provided with an inwarly projecting flange l8 above the flange l1, and an internally threaded socket l9 below the flange ll. A clamp the socket l9 and engages suitable packing 2| to press the latter against the shoulder l5 and at the same time clamp the flange l8 downwardly. A thimble 22 surrounds the shaft and is provided with an outthe mercury. This is due partly to the fact that the high surface tension of the mercury pre vents its wetting the shaft,-'and partly to the fact that the centrifugal force developed in the mercury during high speed rotation thereof prothe shaft, and thereby eliminate the principal wardly extendingflange 23 interposed between the flange i8 and the shoulder l5, and it will be apparent that when the clamp nut 20 is tightened, the cup member I] and the thimble 22 are rigidly clamped to the shaft in concentric relation thereto and the packing 2| is compressed to form a fluid-tight seal between the shaft and cup member.

A plurality of annular flanges 26, 2'! and 28 project inwardly from the cup member If adjacent its upper end. It will be observed that the two uppermost flanges 21 and 28 are identical, and that the inner edge or lip of the lowermost flange 26 is disposed a substantial distance being hadto the accompanying drawing whereoutwardly of the lips of the flanges 21 and 28. It will also be observed that a plurality of circumferentially spaced ports 30 (Fig. 2 extend vertically through the outer portion of the flange 26, for a purpose which will presently be described. At a suitable distance above the upper flange 28, the cup member II is reduced in diameter to form a neck portion 3|.

The baffle I 2 comprises generally an upper, relatively narrow cylindrical neck portion 33 fltting closely within the neck 3| of the cup member and having close running clearance with the shaft Ill, a thickened cylindrical portion 34 in the region of the flange 26, a downwardly and outwardly diverging portion 35 below the cylindrical portion 34, and a depending cylindrical skirt 36 extending downwardly in telescoping relation to the thimble 22 to a point adjacent the bottom of the annular chamber formed between the cup member II and the shaft. The upper portion of the baffle above the upper extremity of the cup member I I is not shown in the drawing, but it will be understood by those familiar with this type of seal that the baffle extends upwardly a suitable distance and is clamped in fluid-tight relation to the wall of the housing through which the shaft projects. The annular channel '40 between the shaft and the baflle is thus in open communication with the fluid externally of the housing, and the annular channel 4| between the outer wall of the baflle and the neck 3| of the cup member is in open communication with the fluid within the housing. It will be apparent that if the seal chamber between the shaft and the cup member is filled with mercury or other sealing liquid to a point well above the lower edge of the baffle, the external liquid must travel through the body of mercury and beneath the lower edge of the baffle in order to pass from the channel 40 to the channel 4|. The chamber is normally filled with mercury to the level indicated by the dotted line a.

When the shaft and the cup member are roon the cup member, and hence its speed of rota- 1/ tion is substantiallyiess than? that of the mercury above the flange 26. Inasmuch as the pressure developed'by centrifugal force is a function of the rotative speed of the mercury, the pressure in the radially outer portion of'tlie compartment 45 exceeds that in the compartment immediately below the flange 26. The ports thus function as discharge ports of a continuously acting pumping means, discharging streams of mercury downwardly through the ports and causing a continuous circulation upwardly through the annular channel 46 between the inner edge or lip of the flange 26 and the baffle as indicated by the arrows 41. By suitably regulating the size and number of the ports 30 and the size of the annular return channel 46 between the flange and the baffle, any desired pumping effect can be produced, to exert a back-pressure on the mercury below the flange 26 and counteract the tendency for mercury to be displaced outwardly beneath the lower edge of the bafiie.

Looked at in another-way, the pressure in the outer part of the chamber 45 is so much greater than the pressure at the inner part, by virtue of the centrifugal force resulting from the relatively high velocity of the mercury in the chamtated, rotation of the mercury is induced by those surfaces on the shaft and cup member which contact the mercury, and is retarded by the surfaces on the stationary baffle which are in contact with the mercury. The induced rotation is usually sufiicient, however, to create centrifugal force of considerable magnitude, tending to displace mercury from the inner side to the outer side of the baflie, and resulting in the formation of a vortex adjacent the shaft which would be filled with the external fluid entering the seal chamber by way of the channel 40. This would be highly objectionable for several reasons, chief of which are that the external fluid would be admitted to a point adjacent the lower end of the baffle, and the thickness of the body of mercury between the shaft and the baffle would be materially reduced. The likelihood of minute particles of external fluid becoming entrained in the mercury I and migrating beneath the baffle would thus be greatly enhanced.

ber 45, that by providing the ports 3|] and making them of suflicient size and number, mercury can be returned from chamber through the ports 30 as fast as it escapes through the passage 46. It follows, obviously, that if mercury is returned from the chamber as fast as it enters the chamber, there can be no total changewill occur entirely within the body of mercury.

On the other hand, if the lip of the flange 26 V were disposed in vertical alignment with the lip This draw-down, or displacement of mercury outwardly beneath the battle, is avoided in the present instance by the provision of the series of ports 30 extending vertically through the flange of the flange 21, the mercury flowing upwardly past the flange 26 would be discharged into a body of internal liquid. If the latter were oil, as

is often the case, a mercury-oil emulsion would be ,formed and would have a detrimental effect on the operation of the seal. It is deemed preferable to not only confine the circulation of mercury wholly within the body of mercury, but also to provide an outwardly extending flange 48 on. the baffle directly above the channel 46, to deflect the upwardly flowing mercury radially outwardly away from the contact surface c.

In order to confine the circulation of the mercury around the flange 26 to the region immediately adjacent thereto,a substantial portion of the inner wall of the cup H in offset inwardly at 49 into closely spaced relation to the outer wall ofthe baflle. A relatively long,'narrow annular throttle passage is thus interposed between the pumping zone'and the lower edge of the battle, protecting the main body of mercury from any turbulence produced by the jets of mercury issuing from the ports 30.

The construction thus far described is similar in all essential respects to' that shown and described in the copending application of Aladar Hollander, Vaino A. Hoover and Charles H.

. tion will now be described. l i a t V diffuser plates and '52 are mounted the annular spacebetween the shaft. and the baflleskirt 35. The

aaaaesa mm, serhu.Nol j4a,45a,med Juiylao; 154mm; plates exceeds that Liquid seal, and reference may be had thereto for a moregdetaileddiscussion of the operating principle of the back pressurepumplng means.

ports. Consequentlyrmercury will flow inwardly It willysuffice for the present purposei to state- 5 that by the provision, of the circulationports 3 0 in the flange 26, draw-down? of mercuryon the "jetsQissuin'g therefrom censtitutes in effect inner sideof the bafllelislavoided,andrby the ports. 30, the surface of contact between'the inercury and the external fluid maybe maintained mg indicated at e. a

while they are stationary, the operatinglevel be- It. has been proven by extensive, tests, however that the elimination v of fdraw.-d own. does not proper selectionof thesize. and number of the approximatelyat the samelevel in; the channel).

40 both while the shaftand'cup are rotatingand preclude the formation of: a thin mm off'exterl al,

liquid between the shaft and. thebody of mer cury, especiallylf thelexternal liquid is water or other liquid which"readily wets the shaft. Even such a thin film objectionable inasmuch as it; may extend downwardlyto the base of the mercury chamber and there be entrained in the body of mercury and gradually-migrate outwardly beneathlthe lower edge of the baffle. I have found that it possible to breakupthis film of externalliquid and confine it to the upper portlonf confine it toxthe 'ries of ports 56;

of theshaft where its entrainment in the mercury can have no harmful effect. In general,

this is accomplished by directing one or more cir cumferential series ofstreams of dry or'un-. contaminated mercury radially inwardly against the shaft in the-upper portion of theseal cham ber. The novelmeans for performing this func- A vertical series ot-annular plate]! comprises an imperforate central body portion 53 having an. outwardly projecting flange 53a rigidly secured to thebaflleskirt, and upper and lower extensions .54 and 55 spaced radially cury in. the regi a throughlthe portsand will discharge against the shaft. "As seenin Fig.3, the innerends of each circumferential seriesof ports are spaced only a shortrdistance apart, and the series of continuous sheet of mercury impinging on the shaft in the plane of each seriesof ports Because of the higher pressure prevailingat the outer'ends of the ports, any external liquid whichmay hav become entrained in the marof the shaft will have been.

squeezed out bfore the mercury again reaches the ,outer edge of the plates, and consequently a the mercury flowing inwardly through the ports is; dry, or uncontaminated by external liquid. The effect of this continuous impingement of dry mercury against'the shaft is to break up the film offexternal liquid on the Shaft and to I region above the uppermost 'se- It will be apparent cated by the arrows I0, and thatflconsequently any external liquid clinging tothe shaft will be dislodged therefrom by the uppermost series of jets and returned to the region above the upper diffuser plate 5|. The pressure developed at the innerends oi the lowermost series of ports 58is obviously equal to that at the inner ends of the intermediate series of ports 51, and consequently the mercury issuing from the ports 51, cannot flow downwardly j-past the ports 58 but is constrained to circulate in, a closed path including the ports 51 and the space between the two diffuserplates, as indicated by the are rows I I. Furthermore, the mercury issuing from the uppermost series of ports 56 cannot flow inwardly frorn the bafile skirt. A circumferential series of ports 5Bextend radially through the upper extension 54, and asimilar series of ports 51 are formed in the lower extension 55, as seen most clearlyin Fig. 3. The lower diffuser plate 52 isgenerally similarto the upperplate 5|, but

embodies only. a single series of radial ports 58 in a lower extension 59 below the .imperforate section 60. he e The flange-53a of the upper plate is clamped ,between a downwardly facing shoulder on the baffle skirt 36. and a sleeve 62.. The flange 500,

on the lower plate 52 is similarly clamped between the lower end of thesleeve 62 and the sleeve portion 83 of a baflie skirt extension 64 secured ,to the baffle skirt as by welding at 65.

The operation of the diffuser plates is as follows: During rotation of the shaft and cup member, the mercury is caused to rotate by contact with the rotating surfaces, although it will be understood that the rotative speed of the mercury will be lower than that of the shaft because 'of the retardingefiect exerted by the stationary surfaces on the baflle and the diffuser plates. Inasmuch as the pressure developed in the rotating mercury by centrifugal force is a function of the linear velocity, which increases in proportion to the distance from the axis of rotatiomthe pressure adjacent the inner wall of. the heme skirt exceeds that adjacent the shaft. In other words, the pressure prevailing at the outer ends of the radial ports 56, il'and 58 in the diffuser downwardly past the ports 51 except by displacing mercury downwardly from the intermediate space between the plates. ,It thereforerfollows that the dischargefrom the uppermost ports 56 is constrained to flow upwardly into the space above the upper diffuser plate 5l, carrying with it any 1 particles of external liquid dislodged from the shaft.- ,It will also be apparent that hould any particlesof external liquid escape dislod'gement from the shaft by the uppermost series of jets, they would dislodged by the jetsfrom the intermediate ports 51 and would "be retained in thespace between the two plates.

In addition totheir primary function of breaking up the film of externalliquid on the shaft, the diffuser plates perform another function which improves the performance of the seal.

By reason of the continuous discharge of mercury radially inwardly through theports in the diffuser plates, the pressure developed at the outer edge of the diffuser platesby centrifugal force is lowered, and. the pressure adjacent the shaft is increased. As a consequence, the tendency to displace mercury from the inner side to the outer side of the battle is decreased endless back-pressure is required in order to prevent draw-down. The size and number of ports 30 in the flange 26 may be reduced proportionately, resulting in a less turbulent conditionv in the pumping zone.

While I have shown and described the diffuser plates in conjunction with other, specific features such, for example, as the back-pressure pump,

from a consideration ofpressure conditions at the inner end of each series of ports that the discharge from the upperseries of ports 56 is caused to flow ups wardly around the upper extension 5l ;as indig ,iri'which g means cfimp ris'es an annular plate securedfat ts"""u'te'r periphery to the inner wallfo'f the baflle' andfhaving a circumferential having anf-mlet'adjacent the battle and an'outlet adjacent the shaft. I

5; ln a' iliquid al'cf the type comprising a roj tatingfm'ember 'cup secured thereto and containing ea-lingliquid, and a baiile secured to a station'ar "member and extending downwardly around e ro'tating member and into the sealing liqu dan'd in which the sealing liquid is such that-itfails to wet the surface of the rotating membie'rjand permits the formation of a film of 1 extraneous liquid between said surface and the sealing liquid, the improvement comprising: i means for dislodging said film of extraneous liquid from the surface of the rotating member, said means comprising a stationary member mounted in the cup between the rotating memher and the baflle, and having walls defining a plurality of fluid passages extending radially therethrough in a common transverse plane, whereby,'during rotation of the rotating member and cup, sealing liquid is caused to flow inwardly through saidfluid passages and impinge on the surface of the rotating member to dislodge the film of extraneous liquid thereon.

6.. A liquid seal for sealing the juncture of a rotating member and a stationary member, comprising: cup means secured to the rotating memher and defining therewith a receptacle containndextending 40 ing sealing liquid; a baflle secured to the stationhim the sealary member and extending downwardly around afflehaving walls the rotating member and into the sealing liquid to divide the receptacle into inner and outer iig' the J rotating shaft and a stationary membe prisirig-i affip in the 'ir'n'iei' ing substantially outer zo'nes "of-fthe fing'aconfineif flu stream "of sealing liq the "inner; 'zon'e, fwhn the main 1i merit.

2. A liquid seal for seal tating shaft and astatiori cup means secured t th with and definingf he 7 taining afbody of seal ng "li curedtfo the *stationarylmembe downwardly around the shaft ing liquid; anamea s s extending'substant" compartment, comprising a diffuser plate secured said walls defininga to the inner wall of the baflie and projecting indirecting a stream of against'the shaft', aid all from the main body-cf liquid tating member, said plate-having a central im- 3 'A liquid s al for slealing the juncture of a perforate section, a circumferential series of rotating shaft and a stationary member, com- 50 ports extending radially through the plate above prising: cup'means secured to the shaft to rothe imperforate section,-and a second circumtate therewith and'defining therewith a recepe fl Series Of Ports extending radially tacle for sealing liquidjfabaflle secured to the u h t e Plate below the imper orate Section. stationary member and litndilflg downwardly CHARLES H. NAZRO.

" serie's 'offiuidYpassagesf therein, each passage 7 compartments; and diffuser means in the inner.

wardly therefrom into close proximity to the ro- 

